[Orange Chicken]

So, as in the title, how have you contributed to expanding paintball? You, except for being on TechPB and helping out newbies who went to the right forums for help starting out. I mean more locally, with people you see in person.
Ill start.
I have recently introduced around 4-5 people to the sport per month and got 2/5 of those people hooked, and I help them with techniques, how to play better, and recommend good gear so they dont buy the wrong stuff. I also convinced my school administration to allow us to put flyers around if they want to join our paintball club (everything is done outside of school, no affiliation other than us advertising there), thanks to Mike by the way, and I bring out even more people into the sport, and get people who ocassionally play to constantly play and bring more of their friends and relatives to go play. Just yesterday I brought out a group of 16 to go out and play at the field as a private party, most of them it was their first time. At the field when Im not brining new people, ill sometimes hop into the beginners group with maybe only a pump or a squeegie and help out the team by teaching them how to play better. If someones gun go wrong in the staging area, my group of friends who are regulars and I help them find the problem, and, if possible, fix it on the spot. If we cant, we lend out a gun if we have one available.

[iStansbury77]

I hand out sponsorship coupons and shit to kids and offer advice. maybye let them shoot my gun a little. But working with them as a team and making them feel ideal to the game makes them feel they need to come back to the field again, and again to have the same experiance

[kingJurzy]

I let kids shoot my markers, one ball newbies and help out with markers that went down.

[tallsmallboy44]

I work at a field, and help tech guns whenever possible.

[Tai28]

I got 4 of my friends into paintball, they are hooked and when they get nice gear we plan to make a team

[dertydood]

I went shirtless during a game of hyper ball, and let a group of five or so 12 year olds gang up on me. They had a ton of fun and did a very good job blasting the hell out of me

They had a good time and felt like they were hot stuff taking down an experienced player with an electronic gun such as myself (I only one balled them, and had a single hopper full.)

It's important to give newbies some no-pressure situations so that they can develop and become more confident.

[NBTIppy]

I play it, which in turn causes me to spend much of my hard earned money on the game. What the companies do with that money isn't up to me.

[madsnipes]

so far ive got about 4 or 5 friends into paintball and helped out more renters then i can count

[Pump Player]

I help people trying out pump now, we need more pump players!

[TechPB-Mike]

politely inviting people who you know, to come out and play is the most powerful way to grow the sport.

It's how I got into it, it's how a overwhelming majority got into paintball

"yea I usually play just about every weekend. Want to come out? I'll be going on Saturday, I got everything you need, no worries!"

[marceldacs]

This isn't what i did but is how i got into paintball. Inviting friends or classmates for a party usually gets a lot of people in.

[sonicx059]

TechPB-Mike, on 27 December 2012 - 01:06 AM, said:

politely inviting people who you know, to come out and play is the most powerful way to grow the sport.

It's how I got into it, it's how a overwhelming majority got into paintball

"yea I usually play just about every weekend. Want to come out? I'll be going on Saturday, I got everything you need, no worries!"

Curious as to who was the person that invited Mike to play.

As far as myself I help give safety briefs and answer questions(within my ability to do so) on the field.

Willing to help out at the field but most of the time they tell me that "You paid to play so we couldn't have you working"

[FreeEnterprise]

I started my own field and invited all my friends. Over the years I have gotten well over 100 players into the sport. I typically have at least 3 brand new players at my events. I have 5 of my "borrow" markers requested for Saturday from new players. And I set them up like my marker, so they get a nice marker, typically with an Apex barrel, so they can play with good gear. I also have decent masks, and I clean them before every event. I have also figured out a way to film paintball where people can SEE the hits. Which give new people a better idea of what games are like. So they can watch and see before they play.

Best part is, I don't charge a dime for anything. So my friends get the chance to play without it costing a ton of money. So guys with tight budgets can still enjoy a day of paintball with their friends.

[pb28188]

I Try to invite atleast 5 new people a month.... Usually 1-2 a weekend

[alexdiaz1994]

I instruct free gun teching and basic skill clinics at the field i work at every saturday

[TNpaintballer99]

I have gotten three of my friends into paintball. I am getting a new setup and going to start bringing friends out and let them use my older setup. This is a good thread. I was thinking about making one, but you beat me to it haha.

[PandasEverywhere]

I got people hooked on paintball but once they started looking into it they saw the cost and have gotten very hesitant. Any tips on how to get the people to make the leap and buy some gear? The two of them have jobs and both enjoyed playing when I took them out but they do not want to spend $50+ a week on the sport. I told them they could be like a lot of people and just play when you have the cash (1 or 2 times a month).

[Antonious]

I almost single-handedly grew my outlaw-ball group from about 8 people to nearly 50 back in high school. If I had any money at the time, I would have tried to create my own field for it since we didn't have any local ones.

[Orange Chicken]

PandasEverywhere, on 27 January 2013 - 10:16 AM, said:

I got people hooked on paintball but once they started looking into it they saw the cost and have gotten very hesitant. Any tips on how to get the people to make the leap and buy some gear? The two of them have jobs and both enjoyed playing when I took them out but they do not want to spend $50+ a week on the sport. I told them they could be like a lot of people and just play when you have the cash (1 or 2 times a month).

You could tell them to slowly buy the gear whenever they have the cash, and in the meantime lend them some of your gear so they know what they'd be buying.

[Jawz]

i don't play enough rec ball to do that. I play mostly tournies and I don't think people want me to help them after I overshoot them to make sure their out.